A mark for life NikolaiAnna
by Young Writter at Large
Summary: Anna still wants her questions answered, so, just before the trial of Semyon, she finds Nikolai. But Kirill has ordered Nikolai to kill her... Nikolai/Anna Music for third /watch?v g6U-8Dcuiec
1. A decision

Anna sat in the hotel room. Quarter to eight in the evening. He would be here in five minutes. Why? Because she had to know…

Know what? Everything. Who was he? Why did he help her? Why is he still in the _vory v zakone?_

One month has passed since he left her with Christine standing in front of the Thames. And as that month passed her curiosity grew. But somewhere there was that nagging feeling that she didn't care about who he was. The feeling that all she wanted was to see _him_ one more time.

About a week ago she wandered at the bar beside the _Trans-Siberian_. She didn't know why but something told her that perhaps there was that slightest chance in finding him there. And two days ago she did. She was sitting at the bar stand sipping herbeer slowly. He she heard the door creek open. Someone came towards the bar stand at sat beside her. The deep Russian accent ordered 30gramms of vodka. Her breath froze. It was _him_. She slowly turned around saw that he was already looking at her. Taking the vodka he quickly gulped it down and brought his kerchief to his mouth. He then took a deep breath and looking at Anna again said,

"Hello, Anna Ivanovna." Taking the beads from his jacket pocket he started flipping them again. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. I just came in for a drink."

"This is nowhere close to your home or the hospital…"

"I might have come to see you…"

"Well I'm here. Anything you wanted to ask me?"

"Well," she sighed, "yes." He looked at her and the expression told her to continue. "Who are you, really?"

"I'm just the driver." He said with a slight curl on his lips.

"I don't believe you." She pushed further.

"That's your problem, not mine." She looked at him with a face that meant she was going to find out the truth sooner or later. He smirked and laughed. He emptied another glass of vodka and putting away the beads studied her closely.

"If you want to continue the interrogation later then I suggest a better place than a bar."

"Ok. If it means I will get the answers to my questions, fine! Where and when?"

"Thursday at the Plaza Hotel. About quarter to eight. I'll send you the room-key tomorrow. I will have business before that but I should arrive by that time." Paying the bill he put on his glasses and went out.

Why did she ever agree to this?

The door creaked open. She stood up. Nikolai came in and took off his sunglasses. He studied her.

"Well. What did you want to know?" he took a step closer. She took a step back. He stopped and took out a cigarette.

"Who are you for the _vory v zakone_?"

"Just a driver…"

"Is that why you were nearly killed? Just because you're a driver?"

"It is." She looked confused. "I was almost killed just because of that fact. Because I am no-one, where as their intended victim was someone of a higher rank than me. The killers didn't know what the person looked like, so I was pointed out to them."

"And you still continue to work for them!"

"Why not? I cannot prove that it was them who showed me to the bastards and if I am to leave then I'll get killed."

Her face softened, but just a bit.

"If I were you, Anna Ivanovna, I would keep away from people like me. For your own safety."

"I go where I want and with whom I want."

"Kak pojelaesh!" Anna looked at him. "As you wish! Anything else? I still have to send a customer to Ireland."

"What?"

"The vory v zakone want a certain man to be dead and I am to send him to heaven anyway I can. But I think that Ireland might be better for him…" he turned round and walked towards the door.

"Wait!" she said.

He turned again and came towards her. This time she let him come as close as he wanted. He took up one of her hands in his.

"Anna Ivanovna! I do not want you to have anything to do with a man with such marks on his hands. Your hands are clean and should stay that way." He leaned towards her slowly. She, amazingly for him, didn't step back. Slowly he placed a kiss on her lips. "That will be yours for whatever time you wish it to be. And for that time, keep away from them and me…"

He left the room.

When she came home her mother handed her a letter.

"A police officer delivered it. Do you know what's in it?" she questioned her daughter.

"Not a foggiest idea…"she said slowly as she opened it. She froze in mid-step. And let her back rest on the wall. Her eyes scanned through the letter further and further amazement came onto her face.

"They've arrested Semyon. The father of Christine I mean." Her voice was shaken. "They want me to be a witness against him at the listening of the case at court."

"When is it?" her mother asked.

"This Sunday." She turned her gaze to her mother. "How come you're so calm?"

"Why shouldn't I be? They've arrested a criminal. It's how it is meant to be." With that she went into the kitchen to make tea.

Anna glanced at the note again. There were a few lines hand-written at the bottom.

_My dear Anna Ivanovna, I highly advise you to keep out of the Trans-Siberian restaurant area before the listening and possibly move out of London all together for your own safety. I think it is needless to say, that because you might give the deciding evidence you might be wanted to be seen with a bullet in your head.  
>Yours truly, Nikolai Luzhin.<em>

This made her even more confused. Who was Nikolai Luzhin, that he worked for the Russian mafia, but wanted her out of harms way. And how did he appear in this official document?

Her mother came and took the letter from her. Anna still stared into nothingness.

"Who's Nikolai Luzhin?" she asked. "Anna?"

"Hmm? What?" Anna asked.

"Nikolai Luzhin. Who is he?" getting no response she continued, "Is he their driver? Anna tell me!" Anna didn't know what to say. "Well that settles it." Anna slowly put off her coat and went to see Christine. She was asleep.

"Why are you so late by the way?"

"I wanted to get some fresh air." She said absently. The doorbell rang. Anna didn't hear it. She was deep in thought. To think that this perfectly innocent child's father was the head of the vory v zakone…

"You? What do you want?" she heard her mother's voice at the door. She couldn't hear the other voice.

"No! Go away and leave us alone!" Anna went to see who it was. She looked at the clock. It was half past nine.

"Anna!" the visitor called her. She looked at the visitor.

"Nikolai! What are you doing here?" her voice was shattered.

"So he is Nikolai Luzhin!" her mother fretted.

"Anna! You should leave the city! Kirill wants you dead so that you can't give evidence against his father."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't want to see you dead!" he said concerned.

"Anna get inside. You and all your other criminal friends will not appear here again. Is that clear?" Anna's mother persisted.

"Mum! Please! Leave us alone for a minute!" Anna begged. Helen looked at Nikolai with a look that could kill, left the door and went to look after Christine.

"Anna, please!" Nikolai urged her.

"Am I to leave my mum and Christine here? Am I to walk away for my own safety, knowing that your friends might come here and kill them but not me?" she looked into his eyes.

"Anna, you should all leave the city until the reading and after giving evidence you should leave immediately also. If they find you they will tell Kirill and he will give the order for your murder!"

"One thing that I don't understand: why are you telling me this? You work for them!"

Nikolai sighed.

"Just believe me."

"I do. I just don't understand who you are."

"It doesn't matter." He said. "Zabud' menya! Forget me!" with that he left. The black Mercedes slowly drove away.

"What did he want?" Helen asked her daughter.

"He wanted to tell me that we should all get out of the city."

"I don't know about getting out of London, but I think we can get to the other side of it, visit your Aunt Delia."

**Sunday.**

Anna sat in the car on the way to the court. She would give evidence against Semyon even if it killed her. She shook her head with a slight smile. That was a bit too exaggerated. But what then? She would go back to her aunt, her mother and Christine and continue her happy life? No, she simply had to see him again! Perhaps she would. Perhaps he would be there defending Semyon, or even more unlikely giving evidence against him…

**Thursday night. 10:17 pm**.

"Did you kill her?" Kirill asked Nikolai as he come in. Kirill put down the bottle of vodka and threw back his head. He was drunk. This wasn't surprising, considering that he might be the new king.

"Yes," he says after a short pause.

"Good. There'll be no-one to show evidence against my father…" Kirill muses. "But! If you are lying to me, because I've seen the way you look at her, I will drown you in the Themes, then bring you out and cut you up, burn you, and fling the ashes into the river again!" he laughed. Drinking another shot of vodka he stumbles out of the room.

The inspector met Anna at the entrance to the court. As they went in Anna thought she had seen a black Mercedes pull up at the corner with Nikolai in the driver seat. She dismissed the thought almost immediately.

"Anna," the inspector addressed her, "did you get the message from Nikolai Luzhin?" Anna stared at him in confusion.

"Well, yes. Why?"

"He asked me to tell you something after the listening, but only if you got his message."

"How do you know him?" she asked.

"You'll find that out after the listening. Ah! There's our courtroom. Wish us luck!"

Kirill sat in the courtroom. He looked at his father. They smiled to each other when their glances locked together. And all seemed well. There was no doctor to describe the death of the girl. But when the witness was called Anna came. Semyon starred at his son. Kirill in his turned gaze towards the door where Nikolai was standing. They looked at each other and read each other's thoughts:

_You bastard!_

_Your problem._

_I'll kill you! You know I'll do it!_

_Do whatever your heart desires._

Kirill smiled. He looked at Anna then back to Nikolai. He kept switching his attention from one to the other. Nikolai's face changed to a grave one. A face that meant that he would kill Kirill. But the new king kept smiling. He sat back and looked at his father. They exchanged nods and continued listening to the judge.

When the listening finished Kirill's men almost ran out to meet Anna at the exit. They were to take her to the Themes. Kirill would meet them there. Her body would be hidden in the river once it was finished with.

Anna slowly walked out of the courtroom and walked towards the exit. As she turned down a corridor she suddenly felt someone's hand on her moth, pulling her back. Then she felt another hand take her throat. She fell silent and stopped her fruitless efforts of trying to twist herself out. She became aware that she and her capturer were coming towards a back entrance this might be her only chance she knew that Kirill would kill her at the first possibly opportunity.

A door opened and they went out. She kicked her capturer's shin and tried to run but he caught her arm and turned her round.

Nikolai pulled her into his arms. She tried to twist but he held her tightly.

"I had to. I'm sorry. Kirill has sent his men to collect you at the front entrance, I couldn't find another way to turn you around in time." He whispered softly. She drew away from him.

"So what now?" she asked.

"We run." He said calmly. "Your family is going to be in Edinburgh. The inspector has collected your mother and Christine from your aunt's house and will take them to your uncle. I'll get you there by car."

"Who are you?" she asked suddenly.

"Does it matter that much?" he replied.

"What will you do after you get me to Edinburgh?"

"Run." Anna stared in confusion. "The vory v zakone will want to kill me for betraying them, one, and because I know most of them in the face. Please! Let me take you to Edinburgh."

It was half past five. They would get to Edinburgh at about midnight…


	2. The journeyof thoughts

_**Chapter two.**_

_This will have more on Anna's and Nikolai's feelings than the previous one._

_Please review! _

They were on the motorway, heading to Edinburgh. Anna stared out of the window. She thought of Christine, of her mother, her uncle. But not of Nikolai…

Every time he was there she thought of others, but once he was gone she only thought of him. The fact was that every time she looked at Christine, she remembered Nikolai and their first kiss. Then she would remember the one he gave her in the hotel room a few days earlier. She was surprised at herself that she hadn't pulled away or thought of it as some wicked deed, but quite the opposite. She thought of it as a pleasant dream, a paradise. But then she would get back to reality and try to forget about it.

She felt Nikolai's hand on her own. She turned around but didn't change the hand's position. She looked into Nikolai's eyes that were concentrated on the road ahead.

"Who are you?" she asked again. Nikolai chuckled.

"You are very stubborn Anna Ivanovna. I like it. You never stop until you get what you want." He glanced at her. She looked at him. Her eyes still held the question. Nikolai sighed.

"I am a person who is marked to live in the criminal world. There was no turning back, not since the first tattoo." He sighed again. "There never will be. The path I chose: I must follow it till the end." He tightened his hand over Anna's. "Try to forget me when I leave you with your family. It would be better for you."

"Out of curiosity," she said, "what makes you think it will be hard for me to forget you?"

"Because every time you will look at Christine, or every so often, you will remember her real parents. You will remember Semyon, Kirill and me. And secondly: you came to find me, did you not? I think you knew that you would not get the answers from me, but you still came to ask them." He looked at her. She smiled. "Did it really matter that much to you, who I was?"

"Possibly not that much, but I am still curious." Anna spoke. "You still haven't answered me." Nikolai chuckled, louder this time, but it wasn't a laugh. But he didn't answer.

He could feel her fingers under his. She was so pure, while his hands were covered in blood and 'dirt'. He wasn't going to tell her until he left her permanently. She would be safer that way. Or would she be? He wanted her to be safe, happy and loved by an honest man. Perhaps that would hurt his heart but if she would be happy, it would be worth the pain. It was strange: he always wanted people who got tangled with the vory v zakone to be happy and continue their life. But when he thought of Anna, he couldn't help but feel pain. He didn't know why. This was the first time in a long period of years when he really cared for someone. Really wanted them to be safe and happy. Was it love? Perhaps it was, perhaps it was not. It was more like a bud in Siberia, in the early summer, when everything was just coming to life. It would grow and become a flower, become love, as we know it.

It was ten o'clock. Another two hours and they'd be there. But Nikolai felt that his eyelids were heavy. Anna had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. He couldn't decide whether to stop for an hour to get some sleep and continue later, or drive till exhaustion to Edinburgh and then sleep elsewhere. He finally decided when he saw a lay-by. When he stopped the car he looked at his watch and set an alarm. He would probably wake up anyway. What would he do after getting Anna to Edinburgh? He'd run obviously. He wasn't as certain as he seemed to be. His disguise was not permanent. Still, he could think it over after.

Anna woke up, to find that they have stopped. When she looked at Nikolai her blurry vision made him look like a corpse. But the sudden rush of adrenalin woke her up to find him still alive and in health. He was just sleeping. She calmed down and looked at him. She tried to describe him, but found it worthless. "What did I care for him?" she asked herself scolding herself. He was a killer and a member of mafia! But her answer came from her heart. It was so pure that she almost cried. It was too rich to describe with words. But she was startled to find this answer in herself. She cared! She would die just to see him! She wanted to smile and shake her head, but found that it was not exaggeration. She was surprised. Her sub-consciousness had surprised her, for she had not thought like this aloud before. Then his alarm went off and he woke up.

She turned away so as not to draw attention. He looked at her.

"How much do you really care who I am?" he asked.

"I don't." she said. "I don't care who you are, I care that you are you." The words that she spoke startled her. What was happening to her? He took her arm, but she slowly pulled away.

"Anna…" he whispered. She turned around. There were tears in her eyes. Nikolai pulled her towards him gently. She came into his arms. After a few moments he looked at her face. That's when he kissed her the third time. And it will be this kiss by which she will remember him the rest of her life. The kiss that explained everything that they felt for each other.


	3. What could have been

They started off again.

Nikolai looked at Anna but looked straight back at the road. He felt that he left a mark on her pure skin every time he looked at her, touched her or spoke to her. He had left a mark in her life already by touching her hand when she gave him the diary. He had let his feelings take over his body and kiss her after saving Christine, shining light into a dark the dark cellar of his soul. He may not have provided the flame which lit his heart, but he didn't stop the fire. And more he let Anna's heart catch his flame to burn with him. And he hated himself for this. Anna's heart was still so soft, whereas his heart had been used to being turned into lava to become rock the very next second. He had left his life and soul behind before, but Anna had not. And Nikolai didn't want her to do so, because he didn't want her to suffer pain.

Anna felt as if her heart would burst. This was probably one of the last times that she would be so close to him. She didn't care who he was, she cared for the man inside that rough shell. She would just have to hope that time would heal her heart's wounds.

The car drove into the hotel's car park. Anna's family was there to meet her. When the car stopped she ran out to them. Christine was there too. She hugged 'her' child tightly. She was glad to be back with her family, but somehow she felt that something, or rather someone, was missing. But she soon forgot about that, as the overwhelming joy of seeing her uncle and mother with her, safe and sound, washed over her.

Nikolai parked the car. He looked over to the Anna and her family. They didn't notice him, which was probably best. He would leave for London in the morning, hopefully unseen. The inspector was sitting in the hall and after he talked to Anna and saw them to their rooms he came up to Nikolai.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" he asked.

"Would you mind telling her after I leave?"

"An agent's heart finally cracked?" the inspector chuckled. "Excuse me, Nikolai, I didn't know it was that." He added seeing Nikolai's saddened expression. "Come on, now. You will spend the night here and can go to the Embassy in London tomorrow morning. I had a message that they wanted you to go back to the FSB in St. Petersburg."

Nikolai couldn't get to sleep for a very long time, but when he finally did he was back in his home city. He could see the river Neva run through the channels of St. Petersburg. It was cloudy but warm. It must have been summertime. He was wandering through the city, around the Isakievski Cathedral. This was about ten years ago. He suddenly remembered a film about the Second World War. 'The 17 glimpses of spring' it was called. It was about a Russian agent working in Berlin, during the spring of 1945. He felt a bit like him, but his deed was nothing like the agent's. Then he could see Petergof Park and all its amazing fountains. How he would have loved to see them again. But not alone, no. He would have done anything to look at them with her. And then she came into his dream. And they strolled in the park for hours. They caught the summer rain, but it only cheered them up. And Nikolai was perfectly happy. But then he woke up... And such bitterness filled him up that he thought he was going to cry. But no tears came. His heart had once again been frozen by reality.


	4. Lies

Ok, I admit it! Last chapter could have been better. I just had to put that bit in, because it was sitting on my mind for quite a while, but I couldn't get it fit into the second part.

As always: I do not own, I make no profit, I do not own song from the last chapter either.

P.S. please review!

_Five years later..._

Anna and her family had moved back to London and had bought a bigger house, selling the old one. Stepan had stayed with them and had cut down on the drinking. Helen took care of Christine when Anna was at work. And Anna seemed quite happy. But only the word 'seemed' was used there. Sometimes when they would sit together round the fire in the evenings, a happy family, Anna would get the feeling that something, or someone, was missing. And Christine would ask sometimes, why doesn't she have a daddy, and Anna would answer, "Because I haven't found the right one yet." But Anna felt guilty for lying to her daughter, because the answer was just that-a big fat lie. Anna had found the 'right one', but had lost him, possibly forever.

Anna's friends were mostly married and when they met they would tell her, "Find yourself a man, Anna! You'll need one sooner or later." And she would answer, "I don't need anyone, not yet..." This too was a lie. She found herself lying a lot, to her friends, her family, but most of all herself.

The news that Nikolai was in fact an agent and not a criminal made her feel even worse. First she could think that she had rid herself of a charming criminal, now she understood that she had lost a very good man, who she loved.

Anna, Helen, Stepan and Anna's friend Chloe were taking Christine to the park.  
>"I'm telling you! Seriously! Get yourself a husband!" Chloe tried to convince Anna, who was taking photos of Christine, Helen and Stepan. Anna chuckled. "You never stop, do you?" she asked.<br>"Anna! You are surrounded by bachelors of your age! Think of all the people who you work with and who you are good friends with! Honestly! You've got a kid that will start school in a few months! Have you any idea how much hassle that is?"  
>"Chloe! Stop! I don't need anyone now, and even if I will need somebody, I'll chose myself."<br>She shook her head. It was annoying, having people around you telling you to get married, without knowing that somewhere on this planet there was a man who owned your heart. But the chance of him coming back was ever so slight. Anna glanced sideways to see whether the family car was still parked where they left it. That was a lie too. She wanted to imagine that there, at the other side of the park would be the one man who she really ever loved. she was about to turn back but then...

Then she saw a figure at the other end of the park. A tall man with silver hair in a long black coat. He stood too far away to see his face but she was almost certain it was him, no matter however mad it was. Chloe was babbling on about Anna's irresponsibility. But Anna slowly walked towards the man. She looked at his face and recognized him without as much as a trace of doubt. He smiled at her. And as he smiled back. Anna's heart was rapidly filled with joy. She walked slightly faster as he started taking a few steps towards her. Soon she could feel his arms around her. She felt his breath in her hair and on her shoulder. While Chloe stared at her in amazement, and Helen and Stepan looked at her with happy-sad-shocked faces, Anna felt better than she ever had felt in her life.  
>Nikolai hugged her tightly. He could swear he felt her heart beating in time with his. His world of doubts and fears fell apart. So when she looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the sun's light, he felt that all of his suffering had just been rewarded.<br>"I thought you might have found yourself a husband by now." He said with his rich Russian accent.  
>"I don't need anyone..." She replied after a soft chuckle. But she continued, whispering the last words into his ear, "...<em>Krome teb'a!<em>"

That day Anna's smile stayed on fully. She and Nikolai parted, but he promised that they would meet quite soon. So, Anna was for world of reality to the world of daydreamers. And everything seemed to be smilling onto her, like it seems to one who is hopelessly lost in joy, happiness and love, when these feelings are not just shared with one, but enjoyed with one. The sun was out, the birds were singing and Nature herself seemed to celebrating. And nothing in the world could have changed for the worse.

"Mummy! Who was that man who you met today?" Anna turned round to see Christine standing beside her in the kitchen of her home. Anna didn't know why the question suddenly shocked her or sent storm-clouds into her world. Possibly it was just the getting-back-to-reality shock, possibly not.  
>"Does it matter?" she asked Christine.<br>"Its just..." Christine mummbled, "I've never seen him before and you've never said anything about him...it was wierd the way you just went to him, ignoring everything..."  
>Anna could see that the wounds of her past had not healed. She could see that Christine felt guilty for asking a normal question. A normal question that left Anna stunned. That was all it took to make a barrier between Anna and Christine.<br>"It was just an old freind of mine who I was happy to see. That's all." Anna knelt down to look into Christine's face. And then she smilled. And Christine smilled back...

Helen came into the kitchen and gave Anna a note with the words 'just came throught the letter box a minute ago' and went out into the garden. Anna glanced at the envelope. _Anna Ivanovna. _She smilled at Christine and told her to go to her Grandma in the garden. Another line of dis-trust. Anna knew that she was trying to protect Christine from her past. She would tell her one day, Christine was still too young to know the truth. And Nikolai was part of thet truth.

**P.S For those who can't wait till the next chapter to uncover what Anna s**_**aid: google translater-'кроме тебя'!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for not updating for a while. I'm not sure whether to finish this or not, so please review!

Anna opened the letter with shaking hands. She wasn't all that sure why her hands were shaking. Her heart skipped a beat when she read the contents of the letter. He was asking her to meet him at the Thames, in front of the houses of Parliament. Again she wasn't sure why her heart skipped a beat, for she knew he would have contacted her again. Anna didn't trust her mind or heart now. They seemed so different now, both wanting complete opposites.

Nikolai stood quietly beside the Thames. The night was also quiet, without any wind or even the Moon. It was as if the night was concealing in itself some evil deed that the wind or moon could suddenly uncover. Even the Thames grew silent, not that it was ever loud (not in these times anyway), it just seemed to dissolve out of one's mind, until you saw again the reflection of the Houses of Parliament in it's fluxing current. And it was in this dark and gritty night, that Nikolai was waiting for Anna. And she came. She seemed so out-of-place in this sinister and murky world of wickedness, that her appearance immediately caught Nikolai's eye.

_She came, like an angel in the dark. She shone light into the darkest corners in my mind and she filled it completely, making everything else a vague dream. But I am not complaining, for this sensation was all that I ever wanted._

_He just stood there, like a lost traveller, who had wandered throughout this world. A traveller who only followed his mind but almost never his heart for most of his life, until he finally broke inside, and went with his heart alone. He fitted into the criminal streets of London but he didn't belong there. He is so different and yet fits so perfectly with me._

Anna came up to him and leaned against the railing beside Nikolai. For a while they just looked out on the river. But soon enough they exchanged glances. They looked at each other, mesmerized. If heaven existed on Earth, then this was it. They never uttered a word, never drifted into their own deep thoughts, never let their eyes part. Perhaps they were opposites, perhaps they didn't belong to each-other's worlds, but they belonged to each other at least. As if one couldn't exist without the other. Black couldn't exist without white, dark without light, night without day, earth without sky, plus without minus. All these things couldn't be without the other because they could only be characterized by the other.

They didn't need words to tell one another what could only be told by eyes. They breathed simultaneously because they didn't need to breathe separately. They didn't pay any attention to the world around them because it wouldn't have made a difference.

And it started raining. In a glorious London-style bucketing type of rain. The evil-looking streets suddenly became hospitable and the eerie tension became a pleasant calm. The rain washed away all the worries of this world and left the two of them to themselves.

Nikolai and Anna didn't even notice at first that they were getting drenched. But once Nikolai needed to brush away one of Anna's strides oh hair that fell onto her eyes he suddenly noticed that it was wet. His eyes darted about slightly and then his lips suddenly curled into a smile and he chuckled slightly. Anna looked around with a puzzled look until she understood that it was pouring.

_His eyes met hers again. This time the stare was one of those that a lover gives his beloved, trying to figure out his or her thoughts. It was times like these that lovers lived for. When you knew that everything else didn't matter, unlike the first time when you ignored the rest of the world. When you understood the fact that you could throw away all the way of your life just to be with this other person for a few more minutes._

Nikolai reached for Anna and gently kissed her. She returned the favour. This was the first time they kissed that year after not seeing each other for a few years. And this was all they needed for now.


End file.
